Digital Art and Creative Thinking
Course Description
Students are introduced to the world of visual storytelling through a combination of creativity, technology, and narrative skills while utilizing digital art techniques. Students will gain proficiency in digital art tools and software to create art for their visual stories. They will learn about the foundation of character design, such as using expression, face, and body language to make compelling visual characters. Students will explore the elements of narrative composition, such as plot development, pacing, and mood to create scenes and visual stories. They will be introduced to various forms of narratives such as picture books, sequential art, and cartooning. Students will explore the evolution of visual storytelling across different cultures and time periods to gain further insight into this amazing vehicle of communication that dates as far back to the Paleolithic cave paintings of Lascaux.
Grading and Evaluation
Portfolios containing all class work will be due at the end of the course. Grading will be based on the following criteria: execution and technique, improvement, effort, composition and design, creativity, personal expression, and assignments.
Course work will be graded as follows:
-Participation
-Projects
-Alternative Assessments
Attendance
Students are expected to be in class on time. A student is considered late if he/she is not in class ready to learn when the bell rings. In the event of chronic tardiness to class, a corrective action plan in consultation with the student’s parent/guardian and designed to address patterns of excessive tardies will be created.
The consequences of being late are shown in the list below:
1st Tardy: Teacher Warning
2nd Tardy: Teacher Calls Parent/Guardian — Teacher Detention
3rd Tardy: Teacher Contacts Administration — Lunch Detention
4th Tardy and more: Corrective Action Plan — Additional Administrative Action
Units
1. Methods and Materials
Students get reacquainted with digital art-making tools available to them in a 21st Century Artist Studio. Students gain further proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite and other Cloud software and practice skills to create, organize and distribute digital artwork.
2. Visual Storytelling
Students will be introduced to the methods and techniques of visual storytelling through the art of illustration. They learn the basics of character design and plot development to create a visual story and use the Elements and Principles of Design to create original artwork. Students will have the opportunity to incorporate other art tools with digital tools to create multimedia work.
3. Art in Motion
Students will understand the significance of animation in visual storytelling and its application in various media forms. They will review the history and evolution of animation, from traditional hand-drawn animation to modern digital techniques, and will be introduced to the building blocks of animation, including keyframes, frames per second (FPS), timing, and the illusion of movement. Students will gain hands-on experience in using these tools to create animated projects.
RULES
-Be mindful of what you say.
-Pay attention, don’t interrupt, and don’t force others to raise their voice to be heard.
-Seating is chosen for you.
-Respect school and student property.
-Be in your seat by the bell, and stay in your seats until the bell.
-The room needs to be clean before you’re dismissed.
-Push in your chairs before you leave.
-Grades are not based on the quality of the work, but the quality of your effort…
Remember: it’s not the ink, it’s the think!